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A Waldwick mother of 8th-grade triplets collapsed and died in the borough’s middle school parking lot as she headed to “Back to School” night Thursday -- hours before her 44th birthday.

Borough police and EMS “did all they could” to try and revive Danielle Tessaro Convertino in the parking lot of the Wyckoff Avenue school, a responder told Daily Voice. She was taken to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, where she was pronounced dead.

Convertino, who battled Lupus and heart issues, grew up in Waldwick and was intensely involved in scholastic sports and school fundraisers. She and her husband, Steven, were married 17 years and had two girls and a boy, all 13.

“She was just a great person,” a friend told Daily Voice. "Quick with a line, funny as anything and always smiling.

""The kids probably already signed the birthday cards and were gonna give it to her [Friday morning] before school," the friend added. "How does a man go home and tell the kids they won’t be seeing their mom anymore?"

"She was more than just a mother of three," another said. "She was a pillar in our community who gave thankless hours to the kids in our town. She never gave a second thought to donate her own personal time to any activity that involve our children."

"Back to School Night" is popular among Waldwick parents.

"You go to your kids' different classes in middle school and find out about the classes your kid is in," one of them told Daily Voice. "Then they ring the bell and you have, like, three minutes to get to the next class."

Convertino, who had to have a mass removed from her chest last year after frequent hospitalization, was “always there for whoever needs help at whatever time of day the help is needed,” wrote Lauren DeCanio Marco.

The surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in April 2017 required removal of her aortic valve, said Marco, who launched a
GoFundMe campaign
to help the family with her friend’s mounting medical bills.

As of Thursday, it had raised $21,260, exceeding its $20,000 goal.

"That girl fought for her life last year. Fought," a friend told Daily Voice. "She lost one of her parents when she was very young. She was the kindest person because she knew what it was like to have pain in her life."